Ed Notes Online

Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

I wrote this column for the Feb. 16 edition of The WAVE but it didn't make it in. I expect it to be in the Feb. 23 edition.
Also note that there will be a rally against closing schools today at 11 AM at Tweed. Unfortunately I'm stuck at home waiting for a delivery so I can't make it.

I’m heading over to the PS 42 hearing and NAACP press conference later today – look for coverage in this week’s paper, which last week featured a front page piece by Ralph Mancini on the MS 53 hearing: “Teachers say they aren’t buying rationale to close MS 53.” Hell, yes, no one should buy what they are selling when they close schools, for, behind it all is the goal of dumping often higher cost teachers and low-performing students and forcing parents to send their kids further away to school in the future. Behind many school closings is gentrification – the attempt to remake a local school to be more attractive to wealthier people moving into poor neighborhoods.

Last night I went up to East 101St just off the FDR Drive and overlooking the East River to tape the PS 50 hearing and also to speak up for them as a member of MORE-CASCADE --- Coalition Against School Closings, Colocations, and Displacement Everywhere –it’s a mouthful. We intend to attend the February 28 Panel for Educational Policy vote on 14 school closings at Murry Bergtraum HS in as much force as we can muster to try to get all the schools to stand up together and say NO.

If I swapped videos from PS 42 and PS 50 (District 4, East Harlem) you might not be able to tell the difference between the schools which are so far from each other geographically, but so close in terms of experience of the staff, poverty of the children, but also facing encroaching gentrification. Current and former students spoke passionately about losing their school. Teachers exposed the faux help they received, often consisting of outside consultants pushing useless professional development (PD) (how many years of experience do you need before they stop hocking you with PD up the kazoo?) instead of infusing real resources like more teachers to reduce class size and guidance counselors and social workers to address the learning issues connected to the socio-economic gap poor kids face that hinders their progress. And the point has been made in both PS 42 and PS 50 – why are test scores the end-all and be-all while not counting progress made in closing that social gap which is a pre-cursor to breaking the learning log-jam?

I will put links to a variety of videos from both the PS 50, PS 42 and the Feb. 28 PEP hearings online for those interested in seeing some of these dramas played out.

Those of us who have been involved in closing school stories for the past decade have seen a repeated pattern. School buildings are often coveted by charters. MS 53 is occupied by Eva Moskowitz’ Success Charter. A charter is going into PS 50, along with Central Park East 2, an elite k-8 school that is being moved from two current buildings it occupies. PS 50 was targeted for disruption by the DOE – the attack included not allowing new parents to register their kids so as to dump population and then claim no one wanted to go to the school, as insidious and dirty tactic one can imagine.

A side story is that the principal of CPE2, an elite much coveted school with a large waiting list – so they won’t accept the current kids at the school, sided with the District 4 Superintendent Alexandra Estrella in a major political dispute and is being rewarded for her loyalty by getting the building. Also, across the street from PS 50 is a massive building housing another Moskowitz school. And I also noticed scaffolding going up around PS 50 to make massive improvements for the wealthier future occupants. Teachers complained that money that should have gone to help the kids instead went to cosmetics like expensive paint jobs. Note that PS 42 not too long ago had a beautiful extension attached to the old school. Why waste improvements on poor kids?

While the attendance numbers at PS 50 are significantly better t(88%) han at PS 42, their numbers are worse. Yet in the first year they tripled their reading outcome from 5% to 16% but the next year fell back to 12%. The major difference I heard at PS 50 was that the principal installed when the school became a renewal school, Esther Quinones, was a vicious terminator of teachers, attacked parents, openly lied to people, etc. – the often usual tactic used to rid the school of high priced teachers (younger, non-tenured are easy to remove – discontinue them). Imagine, in the midst of renewal and good outcomes the first year, the principal turned her guns on the staff, most likely on the orders of Superintendent Estrella, a known practitioner of that practice. At the hearing I read letters from teachers and parents talking about these policies.

One other interesting aspect about PS 50 is that its closing will eradicate one of the last memories of the man the school is named after: Vito Anthony Marcantonio (1902-1954) the most radical congressman in the 20th century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Marcantonio) , an open communist who makes Bernie Sanders look like a right winger. Despite that, Marcantonio, who was always on the side of the poor and fought for social justice, was consistently elected to Congress by a mixed bag of Italian immigrants (and others) and the Puerto Ricans in the community of East Harlem. An interesting mix. Marcantonio became a member of the American Labor Party in the late 30s. He was so popular, he often won the Democratic and Republican primaries, as well as the American Labor Party endorsement. He was finally defeated in 1950 due to the growing McCarthyism. (Also see: Rebel in the House: The Life and Times of Vito Marcantonio | John J ...
https://monthlyreview.org/.../rebel-in-the-house-the-life-and-times-of-vito-marcantoni.)

So the closing of PS 50 aside from all the other aspects, has this added wrinkle.

Monday, February 19, 2018

They create new schools, only they're for other people's children. -------Paraphrasing speech by PS 42 Chapter Leader John Krattinger, who has exerted extraordinary leadership since the school closing was announced. John was a teacher at Rockaway's MS 180 over a decade ago when it was closed and replaced by the exclusive Scholars Academy where PS 42 kids would get not get accepted.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

“When school districts close schools, they are sending a message to
low-income students of color, which is, ‘We’re going to give up on you,
rather than support you.’ It is understandable that the DOE may assume
that phasing out a school is actually improving the schools in the long
term, but what about the current students?”

To many advocates, it is clear that our education system is
fundamentally broken and requires a deep restructuring that paves the
way for future students to achieve better educational outcomes. Despite
these noble intentions, the upheaval of closing an existing school and
replacing it with one or more new schools creates instability,
uncertainty and a lack of steady resources for current students. In the
movement to end educational inequity, we must seek solutions that
support the success of all students, tomorrow and today. To accomplish
this, we must shift our approach from relying on metrics and test scores
as the exclusive measures of student success to a more holistic
approach that accounts for the needs and experiences of each student.
This means increased guidance counselors, college advisors, drug abuse
counselors, and mental health resources. This requires a shift from
harmful school policing practices and school suspensions to restorative
justice and anti-bias initiatives. Although the Renewal School Program
encompasses strategies for some of these goals, not all of them are
given the investment our students deserve.

An article posted by the Rockaway Youth Task Force soon after the Rockaway school closings were announced in December.

Kit and Marian, who were founders of Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC) in 1992, a caucus that merged with ICE and others to form MORE in 2012. I posted this piece with some comments back in 2007 soon after Unity Caucus attacked ICE-TJC pres candidate Kit Wainer for being a socialist.

They wrote this 21 years ago when Shanker died. Sean Ahern posted the article on the MORE listserve. While I don't sign on to the entire analysis, most of it is pertinent, especially the UFT recent waffling on support for the MORE reso on Black Lives Matter and the argument that the Shanker led UFT made the right decision to not condemn the Vietnam war. I was a 2nd year teacher in 1968 and did not cross the picket line, though I was unaware of the deeper issues. I also was on strike in 1967 and 1975, when I was very active in the opposition to Shanker and opposed the settlement of that strike that led to the layoffs of 15,000 teachers.

Both issues, the UFT and race and the war are touched on in this essay, as are the connections of Shanker to ed deform in its earliest manifestation in the early 80s. Don't forget - Shanker created the concept of charter schools.

Check out the review Vera Pavone and I wrote for New Politics of the Shanker bio: Albert Shanker: Ruthless Neo-Con where we showed the roots of union support for ed deform were sowed by Shanker and Randi was just following in his footsteps.

Albert Shanker, Image and Reality

— Mirian Swerdlow and Kit Adam Wainer

THE DEATH OF Albert Shanker on February 22, 1997 provoked
a flurry of eulogistic praise both inside and outside the American
Federation of Teachers (AFT). Presidents, think tank experts and AFL-CIO
leaders held in high regard the man who had presided over the national
teachers’ union for twenty-three years.

Although the AFT is less than half the size of its rival, the
National Education Association, Shanker had become the most widely known
figure in teacher unionism.

"Fariña’s 12-minute speech was followed by a QandA session during
which the chancellor’s team of experts replied to issues including
whether or not the incoming teachers would not only be qualified to
succeed in their roles, but if they could also “relate” to the student
population.

DOE representative Melissa Harris responded that an “exhaustive”
round of interviews would take place. Earlier in the gathering, Fariña
also maintained that all current PS/MS 42 teachers would be invited to
reapply and that some would be afforded priority status..... Ralph Mancini, The WAVE

Priority status my ass. We know what this closing is all about -- dump the teachers.

When Deputy Chancellor Elizabeth Rose announced at the Feb. 13 public hearing that Farina would come to the school on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 4 PM as the school was closing down for the mid-winter break there was a bit of rolling of the eyes. Was she clueless or was this intentional to keep teachers away and avoid being questioned, knowing how quickly school evacuate on the eve of vacation?

I tipped the crew over at The WAVE that Farina was coming and that there won't be many, if any, parents there to hear her. Assistent Editor Ralph Mancini was in the building.

Sources say there was some pissed offtedness coming from her highness and her aides making some disparaging comments about parents not caring instead of facing the reality that they boycotted. If they didn't care, how come so many showed up at the hearing just 2 days before?

but then a two or three parents straggled in. Farina saw how small class sizes can be so convenient, as she was apparently able to sit at a table with the parents and explain her vision for the new schools replacing PS 42. That most parents did not show up indicates that they don't want their school to close and that they want to keep the teachers who their kids have gotten to know so well.

“We Will Prevail!”

[Chapter Leader] John Krattinger led the charge against DOE forces that are looking to shut down PS/MS 42 at Tuesday night’s public hearing. Photo By Ralph Mancini

A green-shirted cavalcade of teachers, students, and other community members lobbied Department of Education officials to keep PS/MS 42 open during a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

United Federation of Teachers (UFT) chapter leader John Krattinger rallied the troops by charging the DOE of blatantly silencing people’s voices by failing to immediately notify elected officials of their decision to shutter the Arverne-based facility, also known as The Robert Vernam School.

“If elected officials weren’t notified, what makes you think they’re telling us the truth?” asked Krattinger in rhetorical fashion while also mentioning that NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña issued positive reviews of PS/MS 42 less than 12 months ago.

“The truth has reared its ugly head—gentrification has come to zip code 11692,” he exclaimed. “They want to take it away from our kids and give it to other kids,” Krattinger added, referring to what many have called the DOE’s agenda to see PS/MS 42 closed to clear the lane for two new incoming charter schools that will reportedly be zoned for new homeowners and apartment dwellers in the more affluent Arverne By The Sea community.

Those living in the poorer surrounding communities would be left out in the cold, according to Krattinger and several other teachers.

The school activist continued his rant by calling attention to the statistics that single out the Beach 66th Street location as the sole Renewal school among 20 others with a rating of “good.”

To that end, Krattinger and other faculty members mentioned that the numbers indicate that PS/MS 42 has shown 122 percent growth in English Language Arts (ELA) over the past school year and a 166 percent surge in math over the same stretch.

Undaunted by the DOE’s claims that the school’s level-one percentages among its student population in both ELA (50 percent) and math (60 percent) far exceeds borough-wide totals, Krattinger promised those in attendance that he and his fellow teachers “have moved mountains and will continue to do so.”

“Mark my words,” he declared, “we will prevail.”

Parents also weighed in, including Rhonda Williams, Lechelle Gulley and Millisa Lenihan, who felt as though their sons and daughters were being treated like second-class citizens.

Attendees at the PS/MS 42 meeting vociferously opposed the DOE’s decision to close their school by shouting, “Save 42” in unison. Photo By Ralph Mancini

Williams peppered the DOE panel with questions regarding the type of staff that will be slated to replace the current faculty staff.She wondered why her school was on the list of sites that are slated to be replaced when data proves that PS/MS 42 is ahead of six other K-8 Renewal schools from an overall performance and progress perspective.

“How about giving us some help? How about giving us the proper education other schools are given? It’s ridiculous. Our children can learn. They’re not failures,” she insisted.

Fifth-graders Hasson Smith and Demetrius Weekes both professed their love for their environment and their teachers, as well as seventh-grader

Leilani Dyer, who felt her school wasn’t offered ample time to show real improvement.

Fellow seventh-grader Nigel Adu, however, elicited a hearty round of applause for relating how his teachers have guided him to persevere and overcome an assortment of obstacles he once had as a special education student.

“If this school wasn’t here, I don’t think I would be where I am right now,” he concluded at the end of his allotted time at the podium.

Community activist Queen Makkada lobbed a series of verbal attacks against Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña by calling her a “bully” and “law breaker” along with apprising the crowd that the DOE leader didn’t follow civil rights law in endorsing multiple school closures in Rockaway.

Toward the end of the meeting, Danielle McGuire, a PS/MS 42 teacher, expounded on the topic of time that was previously introduced by Dyer. She noted the site’s governing agency had promised to afford the school three years to grow and develop, but has now reversed course.

Less than 24 hours after Tuesday night’s hearing, The Wave learned that Fariña would be visiting PS/MS 42 Thursday afternoon to unveil her plans for a new facility slated to supplant the current school.

When Krattinger was contacted by The Wave to comment on the chancellor’s appearance, he reported that neither teachers nor parents would attend the presentation.

He further remarked that the DOE’s last-minute decision to schedule a meeting at 4 p.m. was another “dirty deal” on their part to keep faculty staff away as the school heads into its mid-winter break that same day.

An official verdict on the fate of PS/MS 42 and other Renewal schools takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Mary Bergtram High School, located at 411 Pearl St. in Manhattan. The event will kick off at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

What a remarkable hearing last night at PS 42. I have some amazing video. Deputy chancellor Elizabeth Rose was on the dais -- pretty remarkable - and Farina is supposed to come to the school this Thursday at 4PM to explain to parents about the new schools being opened. All apparently due to the firestorm the school community has created, which has led to an enormous presence of the UFT, especially from the Queens borough office, now led by Amy Arundel -- and I give her credit for the response. Almost the entire office staff were at the hearing last night.

What a pleasure to interact with some of these parents, some of whom I've gotten to know since I began covering the story.

Leroy Barr, who has been attacked - unfairly some believe (Mike Schirtzer on BLM Reso: A Plea for More Unity in Our Union)
- for his position on Black Lives Matter week, stood up strong for the black lives being ignored by the DOE at PS 42, which is 72% black. I'll note that many of Barr's critics have not turned up at one closing school hearing, where black lives matter is under attack by the DOE, as of this point. See -Virtue Signalling.

When Rose began to speak, the entire teaching staff put tape over their mouths and turned their backs to her.

Parent comments were spectacular comments. The UFT chapter leader said the new schools were not for our children.

Rose at the end for the first time seemed to guarantee every child in the school a seat but it was fuzzy if that was only for kids who are in the zone. Some parents from other zoned schools raised that point.

When someone shouted out about the teachers, Rose ignored them -- kids can stay but teachers not --- it is so clear what this closing is about -- parents brought up questions about new teachers coming into the neighborhood who don't know the children.

The NAACP made comments about going to court for civil rights violations. Rose squirmed a bit at that.

More videos to come over the weekend and I will post them as I process them, but off for a few days of Valentine Day celebration.

The NY Times refereed to this term in the Feb. 12 F section where they listed the Alt-right vocabulary. The alt-right uses the term virtue-signal to mock liberals who conspicuously express left-wing values, primarily for the purposes of impressing other liberals.

Wikipedia defines V-S this way. Virtue signalling is the conspicuous expression of moral values done primarily with the intent of enhancing standing within a social group.[1] The term was first used in signalling theory, to describe any behavior that could be used to signal virtue—especially piety among the religious. [2] In recent years, the term has become more commonly used as a pejorative characterization by commentators to criticize what they regard as empty, or superficial support of certain political views, and also used within groups to criticize their own members for valuing outward appearance over substantive action.

Oh boy, as an obseerver of the left, this strikes a chord. But then again I've been guilty of v-s myself.

Another alt-right term is snowflake -- a weak or overly sensitive liberal. This is especially prevalent in younger generations, who blanch at any hint of conflict or contentious debate. All must be springtime and roses. Only optimism, never pessimism. Everything's comin' up roses. Some of the excuses or rationals when things go wrong are laugh out loud funny. But I have not been immune to snowflake behavior of my own.

I've heard baby boomer women in certain circles I will not name who roll their eyes at what they see are some of the excesses of the me-too movement.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

NYSAPE Calls on Education and Policy Leaders to Break Their Silence; Stand Up for Educational and Racial Justice in Our Public Schools

NYSAPE calls on the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), New York
State United Teachers (NYSUT), NYC Department of Education, NYSED, the
professional associations representing school administrators, members of
the NYS Legislature, and Governor Cuomo to stand with teachers,
students, and parents in denouncing all acts of racism, including the
recent racist events at NYC schools MS 118 and MS 224, and to call for
an immediate commitment to training for ALL current teachers,
pre-service teachers, and school administrators in anti-bias,
anti-racist, and culturally responsive teaching.

Jamaal Bowman, principal of CASA Middle School said, “I am horrified and outraged by the recent racist acts committed by a teacher at MS 118 and principal at MS 224.
I look forward to hearing comments from the UFT, CSA, and NYC DOE, as
their silence at the moment is deafening and heartbreaking. As an
educator for over 17 years, a principal for 9 years, and a black man my
entire life, these recent incidents provide evidence that America’s
history of overt racism and oppression continues to manifest itself as
covert hatred and implicit bias in our schools.”
Jia Lee, NYC public school teacher and member of Movement of Rank
and File Educators (MORE) added, “Teachers across the city participated
in a nationally coordinated Black Lives Matter Week of Action from
February 5-11. One of our central demands is to institute Black history
and ethnic studies in our curriculum. Teachers, such as Mercedes
Liriano, need to have the autonomy to teach culturally relevant
curriculum for our students. If my union’s (the UFT) leadership would
have supported this demand, teachers would be much further along in
making racially conscious and just pedagogy accessible to our students.”

“While our so-called leaders play politics, every day children suffer
devastating emotional injury in our classrooms and schools. Sometimes
they literally die. It is time for parents, educators, students, and
allies to hold our leaders accountable and demand that they denounce and
destroy the infrastructure of racism within our schools,” said Marla
Kilfoyle, Executive Director of The Badass Teachers Association.

Bianca Tanis, Ulster County public school parent, educator and
founding member of NYSAPE said, “Too many students of color are dealing
with an oppressive public education system in which they are subjected
to under-resourced and segregated schools, over-crowded classrooms,
disproportionate suspension rates, and curriculum and instruction that
centers whiteness and upholds racist narratives. This is an educational
crisis and those who remain silent are complicit.”

“As the parent of a biracial daughter, I know that when the majority
of students are black and brown, but the teaching and principal force
fail to reflect this demographic, these are hardly isolated situations.
Teachers who, in the best interests of their students, go the extra mile
to bring in more than standard scripted lessons should be supported,
not stifled or shut down. Moreover, we should be looking beyond these
separate incidents to the larger issues of systemic racism in our
schools: students and schools of color are disproportionately crushed by
“test and punish,” “drill and kill” practices that strip them of a rich
curriculum, set them up for failure, and pave the way for charter
schools to take over their schools,” said Janine Sopp, NYC Opt Out
founding member and public school parent.

Eileen Graham, Rochester public school parent and founder of Black
Student Leadership said, “What happened in the Bronx happens
consistently throughout the state, including Rochester, and it is
shameful. We must use our voice, influence and power to deal directly
with individuals who attempt to carry on the legacy of bigotry, hatred,
and disrespect, and we must continue to be intentional in our fight for
black and brown children who have been historically disenfranchised. As a
parent, I know that it is important to educate and empower our children
through culturally enriching and diverse curriculum. The people demand
that our leaders support the needs of our children.”

“As a mother who has long been involved in both education policy and
community politics, I am becoming increasingly alarmed at the lack of
responsible and diverse cultural and ethnic pedagogy in our public
schools. It is especially disheartening in a climate where our most
vulnerable children are constantly being bombarded with examples of
normalized racism and an education system that is riddled with policies
perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline. There is absolutely no
excuse for anything other than to stand up for our children, especially
students in targeted populations. It's time to reclaim our children's
time and revamp our education policies and practices!” said Johanna
Garcia, NYC public school parent and President of Community Education
Council of District 6, Manhattan.

“Unlike our counterparts in suburbia, who can apply pressure to, or
directly vote out, school board members who ignore their wishes, we
parents in New York City are grievously disenfranchised by the system of
mayoral control. The anti-democratic suppression of our voices as we
advocate for the rights and needs of our children has gone on for far
too long, with low-income communities of color left most powerless of
all. If we want things to change, we need to return control of our
classrooms to those with a stake in the system,” said Kemala Karmen, NYC
public school parent and founding member of NYC Opt Out.

Jeanette Deutermann, parent and founder of Long Island Opt Out
concludes, “Across the State, supporters of equitable and just public
education applaud and stand in solidarity with the courageous teachers,
students, and parents who have raised their voices to demand educational
and racial justice. We expect our education leaders to do the same.”

NYSAPE is a grassroots coalition with over 50 parent and educator groups across the state.

I'll be there tonight to tape the hearing and support them. I have some interesting info to share about what was done to the school. The MORE-CASCADE group is trying to get to as many hearings as possible. CASCADE stands for: Coalition Against School Closings, Colocations, and Displacement Everywhere - WOW, if I could remember that I wouldn't feel like someone about to hit 73 years old. Or is it 74? 64?

We need your
support at the joint public hearing being held to determine the future
of P.S. 50. Please join us to help protest the proposed closing of our
school. A school that has been around for over 3 generations for some
families.

This school has served students, families, and the
community alike. Having over 21 partnerships including The Children's
Aid Society (after-school, summer camp, and holiday programs), a
school-based health clinic (eye exams and dentist on site), Parent Job
Net (helping parents, guardians, and family of students, to obtain
G.E.D's, jobs, free workshops and classes, etc).

Basing a school on test scores alone is unfair. You don't give up on a
school when it is "failing", you show support and do what it takes, as a
Superintendent, a Chancellor, a Mayor, to ensure that time, money, and
resources are given to the school in the RIGHT way, so that these kids
strive and have an equal opportunity, without losing their second home.

I hope that as a community we can come together and prove that we will
not go down without a fight. These kids, our kids, deserve our support.

Greg Pallast: Before Hillary paid for a copy, the file was already written for a news
front sponsored by Republican billionaire Paul Singer. Singer: Better
known as “The Vulture.” Singer The Vulture, the court should have been told, has a long history
of creating what FBI Director James Comey himself called “salacious and
unverifiable” files on his enemies. I know. Because The Vulture created a file on me. And on elected officials worldwide who got in the way of his next billion. Poisonous garbage – but really effective, deadly garbage.
In 2011, I flew to the Congo and discovered that The Vulture had seized
the funds meant to end a cholera epidemic. I reported on Singer’s
deadly capers at the top of the BBC news, on the front page of the Guardian and on Democracy Now! ---- Read more at: https://mailchi.mp/gregpalast/the-steele-dossier-on-me?e=268df8ffc2

Pallast's story -- I included it below the break -- actually sort of sides with Devon Nunes, though he calls him a liar --- it's like the world has been turned upside down --- did I and other left-leaning people ever think the FBI WOULDN'T fabricate stuff?

I and other have mentioned billionaire hedgehog's support for Eva's Folly and Paul Singer in particular. (Google his name and Success Academy). Here is a link to one of my posts back in 2013:

Sunday, February 11, 2018

I also call on both groups to work together to achieve a common goal:
Because Black Lives Do Matter to all of us. Now is not the time for
blame or is it the time to scream how things *should* be. Now is the
time to roll up our sleeves and get stuff done.... Mike Schirtzer

I asked Mike if this was his official application to join Unity Caucus. I don't agree with some of it but do agree that the black members of Unity are not racist - duh! or mere sellouts. More of my commentary after Mike's piece.

A Plea for More Unity in Our UnionBy Mike SchirtzerUFT Delegate Goldstein HS-BrooklynUFT Executive Board member“We want a union that believes Black Lives Matter”. That is the statement that was published by the MORE caucus of UFT, which I am a member, to be circulated online.It is also a false statement, one that is unnecessarily inflammatory and unfair.

I wrote both of these pieces for the Feb. 9 edition of The Wave. I went on the bus with the PS 42 people going to the NAACP press conference Thursday afternoon. They had a spirited group rally in front. A UFT official from the Queens office showed up and somehow we got invited to go in as there as a monthly meeting of the boro pres education advisory council taking place at 6. So the press conf never did take place and will instead take place this Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 5PM at the school before the 6 PM hearing.

As part of the CASCADE group to fight closing schools, we have been attending hearings and offering support. The UFT has shown some activity - Leroy Barr came to PS 42 on Thursday and is supposedly coming to speak on Tuesday - and probably Amy Arundel and others from the Queens office will be there. I can raise issues about what the UFT is not doing but will leave that alone pending the outcome --- there is hope they can play a role in saving the school. If they do I will praise them to the sky.

-->

School Scope: PS/MS 42 Closing Drama – NAACP Jumps into the
Fray

By Norm Scott

Last week I pointed to the political, not educational,
irrationality of closing schools that are viewed to be performing poorly. In
this follow up I hope to demonstrate there are other factors than mere
educational performance behind the decision to close PS/MS 42. I’m writing this
on Feb. 6 so I can’t report on the outcome of the NAACP press conference at Queens
Borough Hall on Feb. 8 at 5PM. A bus is leaving from the school at 3:15. Email rvernam66@yahoo.com to reserve a seat. And
come to the hearing at the school on Tuesday, Feb. 13. There will be food at
5PM and sign-up to speak at 5:30. It should
be some evening, better than the political battles on cable TV. PS 42/MS 42
community vs. the DOE --- more exciting than the Super Bowl.

I walked past the office on my school and noticed a young black man nervously sitting outside the principal's office. I stopped to chat with him and he said he was assigned to the school as a special ed teacher by the district and was waiting to meet the principal. "Good luck" I said, with just a little rolling of my eyes. I had an Irish woman as principal in a school with about 40% black kids and 60% Hispanic. I believed she had some racist attitudes but would never have thought she was a racist.

Shortly after he was gone - I asked someone what happened and was told she said she didn't need him and sent him back to the district. A few hours later he was back. Once again she sent him back to the district. The next day he was back again, ordered by the district to be placed in a permanent position. He became an integral part of the staff for many years and was very popular. He never created waves and she became very happy with him. I think he was the only black male teacher in my school.

Despite some of her attitudes she did
seem to care about kids and also hired a number of black women who were
paras in our school when they became teachers. So I present the above story as background for the story below.

I know some of my racism denier readers may be skeptical when they read this. Are they really any different than holocaust deniers?

The city is investigating explosive complaints from students and staff at a Bronx school saying their principal barred an English teacher from delving into black-history lessons — and targeted black teachers and students for abuse.
The Department of Education launched the probe after kids and educators leveled the allegations against Intermediate School 224 Principal Patricia Catania, who is white, the Daily News has learned.
The 26-year veteran of city schools remains in her $154,257 post even though students and staffers of color say she’s created a hostile environment since she took the top job at IS 224 in December 2016. “She’s racist,” said English teacher Mercedes Liriano, 45, who’s worked at the school, where 95% of students are black and Hispanic, for more than a decade. “She’s trying to stop us from teaching our students about their own culture.”
The disturbing allegations — relayed to the Daily News by eight current or former employees and five students — come amid a spate of racially tinged controversies at city schools.
Liriano said she was beginning a class Wednesday when Catania pulled her aside and told her not to give lessons about the famed Harlem Renaissance movement of literature and art in the 1920s.
The order shocked Liriano.
She teaches the Harlem Renaissance, as well as the writings of Frederick Douglass, to her sixth- and seventh-grade students as part of the officially recommended New York state curriculum standards, she noted.
But Catania made clear she had a far different view of what Liriano should be teaching her students, the incensed educator said.
“She said I’m not a social studies teacher so why am I teaching my students about black history?” Liriano said. “Her tone was very harsh, as if I committed a heinous crime.” Liriano returned to class and continued her lesson in defiance.
“She’s attempting to stop the students from learning about their own history, and she’s denying them the right to learn about where they came from,” Liriano told The News.
The teacher was so shaken by the experience that she discussed it with her colleagues and students, who responded by wearing all black the next day in protest.
About 75% of the school’s 353 pupils participated in the event, which was organized by kids using Snapchat, kids said.
And 71 students signed a petition calling on Catania to allow the lessons in black culture to continue.

Sixth-grader Savannah Villagomez, 11, said she confronted the principal about her double standards on the day of the protest.
“I asked her why we shouldn’t learn about black history?” Villagomez said. “She said we weren’t learning anything, but she didn’t even look at our projects.
“I was angry,” she added. “She doesn’t know our history and she wants to stop it.”
Catania referred a reporter seeking comment to the Education Department.
Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the DOE, who confirmed the investigation was ongoing, said Catania has no prior disciplinary history. Cohen added that some students are getting lessons in black history from other teachers.
“African-American history is an important part of the school’s curriculum,” Cohen said. “Students are currently working on projects related to Black History Month that will be presented and highlighted at the end of February.”
Liriano said she called 311 to file a complaint about the encounter, which she described as the latest in a string of hostile acts by Catania targeting black and Hispanic students and workers.
Several other staffers echoed Liriano’s accusations of hostile actions toward educators of color. A number of middle-schoolers told The News they were targeted as well.
According to Liriano, Catania told other people that black instructors have poor knowledge of their subjects and are only good at controlling classrooms.

IS 224 math teacher Jacinth Scott said she thinks Catania should be canned immediately.
“She’s a racist, based on her actions and what she does,” Scott said. “She doesn’t belong in this school.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton weighed in on the controversy Saturday.
“This is a disgrace and an insult,” Sharpton said. “(IS 224) needs to know we stand with this teacher and we will be there to do whatever we need to do.”
The Rev. Kevin McCall, crisis director at the National Action Network, said Catania should be replaced.
The trouble at IS 224 comes after The News reported other shocking claims of racism and cultural insensitivity in city schools.
Patricia Cummings, a white teacher at Middle School 118 in the Bronx, was pulled from the classroom on Feb. 1 after it was revealed that she made black students lie face-down on the floor — and then stepped on them — as a lesson on slavery.

-->School Closings and Consolidations
Inspire Teachers, Parents and Students to stand up; UFT must offer more
support; Stories of Awful principals and Superintendents; Focus was on District 4
(East Harlem) Superintendent Estrellaby Norm Scott

But the Unity leaflet attacking MORE at Wednesday's DA requires a response. Arthur has already done a number on the Unity leaflet at NYC Educator.

Arthur points out their utter hypocrisy when they brag about these issues:

I love that they boast of "fair funding for our schools" first, since the so-called Fair Student Funding
is nothing of the sort, with schools getting only a percentage of what
they're promised. It's also a huge discouraging factor for hiring
experienced teachers, and likely is the reason for many being stuck in
the ATR.

I'm also fond of the "equity, access and opportunity for all students"
because UFT Unity has done absolutely nothing to lower class sizes in
over half a century. They boast of sacrifices they made to place class
size in the contract and fail to mention that most of them were toddlers
or not even born when this monumental sacrifice was made.

When I looked at the Unity leaflet I was immediately reminded of the Trump attack on Democrats and those who didn't stand up to salute and cheer his State of the Union saying they were "traitorous".

This is an age-old attack by authoritarians that claim the outside enemies of a nation - or union - must lead to restrictions on democracy and internal criticism. For Unity it used to be Giuliani, then Bloomberg (de Blasio/Farina despite many of the same policies are our friends and thus above criticism), and now Janus as reasons to dull criticism.

We might as well cancel the 2019 UFT elections.

Perhaps the funniest line was this: Unity/UFT recognizes the value of honest dialogue and internal debate in determining the direction that our union takes on these most important matters.

Right. We've seen so much honest and internal debate in the UFT.

The blow back from the controversial Black Lives Matter Week resolution presented by MORE at the January Delegate Assembly and the consequent media coverage which embarrassed the leadership resulted in an outright attack on the MORE caucus and the public reports Arthur Goldstein issues at the NYC Educator blog.

Now as I will point out in some follow-up articles I even as a member of MORE am also critical of some aspects of how the BLM committee of MORE went about handing this.

One of the first questions to Mulgrew was clearly a Unity plant raising the same issue about sanctity of the Delegate Assembly -- shhhh -- well, how do you report to the members of your school what happened since you are elected by your school?

We know that outside reports that might be embarrassing to the leadership is what they are most concerned about and Arthur's reports followed by his analysis, must gall them. I always used to report on DAs in Ed Notes. But when the mainstream press picks stuff up it drives them nuts. That is what happened with the BLM reso.

Lindsey Christ from NY1 read it there and contacted the UFT to ask for comment, which they refused based on the sanctity of the DA. Linsdey, who I ran into at a press conference we were both covering, told me she laughed and told them it was all over the internet. A smart move would have been to actually go on the record with a response because I think they could have made the case that there are many areas of BLM they would support, but maybe not this specific resolution. Lindsey ended up interviewing me and Jia about Leroy's speech. (http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2018/01/26/black-lives-matter-debate-splits-teachers--union).

By the way - I will give Unity credit for their response to the MORE Family Leave demo by sending down Mel Aaronson and a crew with the UFT banner - especially since NY1 was once again covering. That is a direct outcome of their inept response on the BLM story.

But instead of admitting they could have handled things better, they go on the attack.

UFT Election Vote Comparison: 2004-10

A Personal Historical Perspective

Why Karen Lewis Reads Ed Notes

"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What media call "philanthropy" for the public schools are actually seed monies to establish a private "market" in publicly-financed education - an enterprise worth trillions if successfully penetrated by corporate America. Cory Booker, one of the "New Black Leaders" financed by the filthy rich, is key to creating a "nationwide corporate-managed schools network paid for by public funds but run by private managers.

"Ed Reformers" want to cash in on public education and to control its content and outcome, not improve it. Provide great education? Baby boomers had as close as this country has ever gotten to it when we were growing up. The Ed Reform Movement has no interest in seeing such a well-educated, democratically astute population ever again.

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

This award-winning series of articles by Jack Schierenbeck originally appeared in the New York Teacher in 1996 and 1997.

Naturally, from a certain point of view. But, despite certain biases, Schierenbeck, a great guy, was one of the best NY Teacher reporters so this is worth reading. Jack suffered a debilitating stroke many years ago (I used to get secret donations to ed notes from him through a 3rd source.)

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

Effective Union Organizing

A video series put together by Jason Mann from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers about social media and how to use it for effective union organizing.

The first series was called New Media For Union Activists Roadmap and it's still available on-line at:http://www.newmediabootcamp.ca/welcome/I watched some of them and need to rewatch as they are loaded with information.

The second series started last week and it's called "Online Campaigning for Union Activists"

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

Hedges says, There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt taking place on Wall Street and in the financial districts of other cities across the country or you stand on the wrong side of history.

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

I am a former Harlem Success teacher. Not many people who work/worked for her like her very much. I once made the comment that she is very nice when I first was hired. Two of her closest colleague responded immediately almost in unison, "Eve is not nice!" Over time I realized that there was a lot of political games going on. Another colleague once said to me that he was tired of "being part of a political campaign." Sending out 15,000 applications for only 400 seats in a school is reprehensible. The money that paid for those mass mailings could have paid the yearly salary of another teacher not to mention the heartache of all those parents who applied but did not get a spot. She does good work trying to give disadvantaged students a quality public school education but at a great cost to staff AND the school's educational budget! school budget.

GEM's Julie Cavanagh Debates E4E member on NY1 on LIFO and Seniority

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

“Waiting for Superman" is the second most intellectually dishonest piece of documentary work I have seen. It is surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," the pro-Hitler propaganda classic, in that regard. Uses personal narratives of adorable children to create narrative suspense that overrides public policy discussion with pure emotion in unscrupulous attack on teachers and their unions, among others

Timothy TysonProfessor of African American Studies and HistoryDuke University

A Familiar Voice on Unions

"We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their right to strike"- Adolf Hitler, May 2, 1933

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

Even as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and others around the nation are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters. In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it’s ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.- Leonie Haimson on Parents Across America web site

Outsource our children

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

According to a press release issued by the Gates Foundation, the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, these three have entered a ground-breaking partnership to evaluate teachers utilizing the drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. A bird-size device floats up to 400 feet above a classroom and instantly beams live video of teachers in action to agents at desks at Teacher Quality Inspection Stations established by the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

When asked if the drones were authorized to drop bombs on teachers who exhibit inadequacy, Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Gates money puts other methods at our disposal."

Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers said the powerful union has signed on to the drone project...

Teacher Value-Added Data Dumping by Norm Scott

The Real Reason Behind Push for Standardized Tests: It's All About the Adults

On standardized testing in our schools

A must read article about the standardized test industry.Written by an insider who has worked as a test scorer, the article outlines a multinational industry based on an army of temporary workers paid by the piece at $0.30 to $0.70 per test, translated in the need to grade 40 tests per hour to make a $12 salary. The article goes on to show how the companies gauge the grading "results" based on the need to ensure new contracts to continue profiting off of our youth. The original article is from Monthly Review. Here it is on Schools Matter blog.

From Sharon Higgins

Parallels between America today and Germany in the 1920's and early 30's

"Resentment and obstruction are all the right wing in America have to peddle. Their policies are utterly discredited. Their ideology - even by its own standards - is a sham. They are so bereft of leaders, their de facto leader is a former drug addicted, thrice-divorced radio talk show host. That is literally the best they can muster. But they have built a national franchise inciting the downwardly mobile to blame the government, not the right, for their problems, exactly as Hitler did in the 1920s."

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings — though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

Angel Gonzalez and I attended that rally and used the footage to promote our conference on Mar. 28, 2009, which is where the concept of a group like GEM emerged. Until then we had basically been a committee of ICE working with the NYCORE high stakes testing group. The actions of Eva and crew helped spawn GEM. Mommie Dearest!!

I have more video somewhere. I was hoping to get Leni Riefenstahl to edit it but she died. We would have called it "Triumph of the Hedge Fund Operators."

Video of Chicago's George Schmidt and CORE Shredding Arne Duncan and the Chicago Corporate Model

Great Post on Teacher Quality at the Morton School

I'm very tired of the myth that schools are bursting at the seams with apathetic, unskilled, surly, child-hating losers who can't get jobs doing anything else. I recently figured that, counting high school and college where one encounters many teachers in the course of a year, I had well over 100 teachers in my lifetime, and I can only say that one or two truly had no place being in a classroom.